Q36576: CTRL+Z Embedded in Source Truncates BC.EXE Compilation

Article: Q36576
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 4.00 4.00b 4.50
Operating System(s): MS-DOS
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | B_BasicCom | mspl13_basic
Last Modified: 20-JUL-1990

The QB.EXE versions 4.00, 4.00b, and 4.50 editors allow you to embed
control characters into a source file by pressing CTRL+P followed by
CTRL+<desired key>. This is mentioned in a table on Page 135 of the
"Microsoft QuickBASIC 4.0: Learning and Using" manual for versions
4.00 and 4.00b, and on Page 204 of the "Microsoft QuickBASIC 4.5:
Learning to Use" manual for version 4.50.

When using this technique, do not type CTRL+Z into the source file if
the file is saved as text. For a file saved as text, CTRL+Z marks the
end of the file (EOF) for BC.EXE and other Microsoft compilers. (This
feature is a carryover from the end-of-file standard required for text
files in MS-DOS versions 1.x.) You must save in fast load format for
BC.EXE to accept embedded CTRL+Z characters.

A CTRL+Z byte appears on the screen as a right-arrow symbol. To print
a right-arrow symbol on the screen, use the statement PRINT CHR$(26)
instead of embedding a CTRL+Z in a string constant.

This information applies to Microsoft QuickBASIC versions 4.00, 4.00b,
and 4.50 for MS-DOS, to Microsoft BASIC Compiler versions 6.00 and
6.00b for MS-DOS and MS OS/2, and to Microsoft BASIC Professional
Development System (PDS) version 7.00 for MS-DOS and MS OS/2.

BC.EXE stops compiling text source files when it reaches a CTRL+Z
(ASCII value 26) byte. The program below demonstrates this behavior
and terminates BC.EXE with a "Label Not Defined" error message.

GOSUB lab
PRINT "Here is a right-arrow character:"
PRINT "[Press CTRL+P followed by CTRL+Z here in the QB.EXE 4.00 editor.]"
END
lab: PRINT "Test"
RETURN

The following equivalent program compiles successfully in BC.EXE:

GOSUB lab
PRINT "Here is a right-arrow character:"
PRINT CHR$(26)
END
lab: PRINT "Test"
RETURN

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